The danger of giving good advice is, of course, that it is not often used.
The listener nods politely, saying, “Yes, yes, thank you. That is precisely what I ought to do.”
Then the listener goes right ahead and does precisely the opposite.
“Don’t ever give anybody your best advice, because they’re not going to follow it.” ~ Jack Nicholson
Jack may be right. Nonetheless, below you’ll find the best advice Copyblogger has to offer on using and applying Twitter to your marketing goals.
If you’ve got 140 characters to fill, here’s a few good ideas and strategies on how to do it to great effect …
The Ultimate Guide to Twitter Marketing
Start here. 100 curated articles covering 21 different topics. It’ll take a couple days, so get going now. #awesome #icantpossiblyclickallthoselinksman
The Art of Writing Great Twitter Headlines
A Copyblogger classic. Brian saw early on that Twitter upped the headline game quite a few very brutal notches. Think your tweets are getting read in that firehose of information? Think again. Here’s how to do it. #iftheydontreadyourheadlinetheydontreadyou
How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business
This one might make you think twice about sharing [only] the mundane aspects of your life on Twitter. Yes, it can open up connections to power players you never thought possible. Yes, it can generate traffic and super-qualified leads. Yes, the plan is laid out for you right in this post. #123 #abc
5 Steps to Going Viral on Twitter
Is it still possible to blow up on Twitter? If it is, these 5 steps (backed up by data) can show you how. #thisvirusdoesnotsuck
Here’s Hard Data for Headlines that Spread on Twitter
We talked about the art of it above, but here’s the hard data on writing effective headlines for Twitter. From the most (and least) retweetable words, to how talking about yourself affects conversion, see the stats for yourself. #dataiscool #conversioniscooler
How Twitter Makes You a Better Writer
You might think this is the misstatement of the century. But no, you read that headline correctly, Twitter can make you a better writer. #really #imnotjoking
Is Your Social Media Strategy Stalling Because You’re Not Doing This One Thing?
This “One Thing” is so basic, so entirely simple, that you may feel the headline overbilled it a bit. Let me tell you, it did not. Plus, there’s proof of its effectiveness after the jump. #moreharddata #strategytrumpsspeculation
3 Simple Steps to Finding More Clients on Twitter
Who wants more clients? Who wants to find more clients on Twitter? Right. If you answered “uh, me, actually” to one or both of those questions, read this post. #clientsaregreat #clientspaythemortgage
The Direct Line: Copyblogger on Twitter
Travel writing from New York to San Fran. Food writing from taco trucks to hotel restaurants. Questionable music opinion. Brian Clark runs this show, sending you all of the above as well as the smartest links in the business. #insidebriansid #watchout
About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s Chief Copywriter and Resident Recluse.
Twitter definitely forces you to be a better writer! You are limited to 140 characters in which you have to attract the attention of your network, get them invested in what you have to say AND convince them to act. It’s not an easy thing to do.
Agree — Brian once said that Twitter is all headlines and links.
I’ve been in social media (we used to call it virtual community) since 1989, and the combination of brevity, immediate audience feedback, and the everyday aspect of it have been really useful to me as a writer. It also tends to push your voice more toward your natural speaking voice, which is nearly always an improvement.
Hello Robert,
All this articles helps me to be awesome on twitter so thanks for sharing those articles. and let me to made my contribution in this series by sharing a cool app that helps us to schedule our tweets on twitter(bufferapp.com)… and helps us more to be awesome on twitter…..
Thanks for all of the resources. It’s like a full course on Twitter marketing!
Hi Robert,
Great Information. Many people tend to be long winded in conversation. Twitter cuts right to the essence of what we’re trying to convey.
COPYBLOGGER GIVES AWAY THE STORE FOR FREE — AGAIN!
This is another wonderful example of what I refer to as Copyblogger’s generosity! I can’t sing your praises enough for all the outstanding content you provide to your readers. I tell all my PR writing and business writing course students to put you at the top of their writing resource lists and to subscribe to your edifying email updates. I hope you do something similar in the future that covers tumblr, too (I’m greedy).
Thanks for this list! It is just what I have been looking for. I am sure that I will come back to the list again and for reference. I have been dabbling in twitter marketing, but didn’t find it easy to master. This list should help me a great deal.
Thanks again.
Ha!
I love watching you guys. The headline in the email version was “How to Become a Better Marketer on Twitter”.
Now it’s “9 Resources That Make You a Better Marketer on Twitter”. The second is more specific, it implies there is a list (we LOVE lists!) and the “make you better” holds more power. It’s almost like I don’t’ have to work for it now!
Sweet,
DB
You see that Robert? Maybe you do still need the old man around after all.
Sonia and I had talked about a trip to the glue factory with you but, not yet. Not yet.
Nice one Robert!
Excellent value within this post Robert! Thanks for sharing!
Best,
Jason Braud
Great list of resources, guys, and yes, funny how so many never really listen, eh?
Just out of curiosity – do you think Twitter will be left behind by the double hit of Facebook and Google+ and their more advanced offerings (because of the format)?
I can see Twitter becoming more a research station as opposed to an out-and-out communications one – just curious for your take?
Cheers!
It’s a good question, Danny. Twitter still has its many faithful, and on mobile devices it rules for quick quips.
Ultimately, I think it will work out like many things: different choices for different contexts.
This is one to save. A bit overwhelming though. Twitter appears very ADD to me, but it does demand us to be spot on with our messages and our headlines.
Very useful resources.. the challenge of fitting things in 140 chars sometimes brings out the best writer in us.
From this to that, email to blog post, the title changes haha! You guys always have surprises!
Twitter makes us to act more and be more direct rather than just keeps on talking. 140 characters is quite a challenge to fit in everything that you want to say.
Thanks for compiling these all in one place.
Wow, enough Twitter material to shake a stick at, thanks for compiling this little collection Robert.
Question now is, do I allocate some time to go through it all and risk missing out on some nuggets of wisdom, due to ‘info overload’? Or, do I read one at a time, take notes, and then come back and read the next one at a later date?
In other words, do I visit this post once, or visit it several times?
Robert, seeing as you’ve won me over, I’m doing to do the latter and boost your stats a little
I think I just lost my morning!!!!
Thanks Robert, I’ve opened all 9 links, now time to check out each one!
I understand the importance of Twitter and Facebook. From a marketing point of view. But the problem that I have with Twitter is. That most of the people in the Internet Marketing niche are using automation tools. Like Tweet Adder. This makes connecting with my followers in the normal way. An almost impossible task.
Twitter is really a huge resource to when effectively utilized.
Great resources. Specially “3 Simple steps to finding more clients on twitter”
R